Kay hat (for a few causes)

A while back a friend asked if anyone could make hats for her mom, who was beginning chemotherapy. I found some great patterns on ravelry, but got a sudden rush of inspiration to make a more lightweight, but still ornate-looking chemo cap. The Kay hat was born. (it's named after the woman I created it for)

Kay Hat:

Materials:
-about 3-4 oz of worsted weight yarn
-K and J hook. (BE WARNED: I crochet very, very tightly. You made need a smaller hook, as long as they're one size apart, they'll work fine.)
-yarn needle (for sewing in ends)

abbreviations:
sc- single crochet
dc- double crochet

Round 1: make a magic ring. Ch 2 (this doesn't count as a dc) Make 10 dc in the ring. Pull closed. (Alternately, you can ch 3, slip stitch to make a ring, and then ch 2 and work 10 dc) slip stitch to first dc. (10 stitches total)

Rnd 2: ch 2, work 2 dc (hereafter referred to as increase) in same st. Increase in each stitch around. slip stitch to first dc. (20 total)

Rnd 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch. Increase in next stitch. (dc, inc) around. Slip stitch to beginning dc. (30 total)

Here's where we begin the crossed stitches. I hope I can explain it well.

Rnd 4: ch 2. dc in next stitch.

dc in the stitch behind the stitch you just worked.

Voila! Crossed double crochet! Now increase in the next stitch. work Crossed dc over next 2 stitches. (Skip one stitch, then dc in following stitch. Then dc in the stitch you skipped)
work increases and crossed dc around. slip stitch to beginning dc.

Rnd 5: ch 2, skip 2 stitches. dc in next stitch.

dc in stitch behind the dc you just made (crossed dc)

dc in first stitch you skipped. (it will also be the stitch you slip stitched into to close the previous round) crossed dc across 3 stitches made!

When working increases, make sure you do them in the following stitch. The crossed dc can make things confusing. My thumbnail is on the stitch you're supposed to work the increase in.

increase, then work a crossed dc across next three stitches. (skip 2 stitches, dc, then dc in second skipped stitch, then dc in first skipped stitch.

Rnd 6: ch 2, work crossed dc (ending up in the same stitch as the ch 2), work another crossed dc. increase. Work 2 crossed dc, then increase around. slip stitch to beginning dc.

Now begins the rounds of working in strictly crossed dc. They should each take up 2 stitches. always slip stitch to the first dc to close each round. I make 5-6 rounds here, but you can make more if you want a longer hat.

Once the hat is long enough, switch to the J hook.

ch 1, sc around. slip stitch to ch 1. I usually do 2 rows of sc, but you can do more if you'd like.


Now I'd like to show you all my new favorite way to finish things. Reverse sc (crab stitch)!

When you've made enough rows of sc, ch 1. Now go into the stitch to the right of the ch you just made. work as you would a regular sc. There you go. You've made a crab stitch!

Continue around. slip stitch to beginning ch 1.

I also like to slip stitch into the back of the work (the inside of the hat) just under where the round ends. Fasten off.

You're done! Feel free to add any embellishments you like. I've sewn some crocheted flowers to hair clips, and they go very nicely on the edge of the hat. Plus, they're temporary if you don't want them some of the time. They're also a handy little clip for your hair that's always on your hat if you need it. The butterfly in the second picture is sewn onto a pin.

As always, send photos of finished products to armyofowls@gmail.com. Feel free to sell the finished products of this, but please link the customers to the pattern here. Please don't sell the pattern. Thanks!


There's a reason this post is overcome with blue. Today autism speaks has asked everyone to Light It Up Blue. It's all to raise awareness about autism. I'm lucky enough to know not only people working daily with kids on the ASD spectrum, I know some kids on it as well. My son is having his own issues with development and speech, so I sympathize with wanting your child to excel and grow past their shortcomings, but wouldn't change a thing about them. I once heard someone say that the fear of autism is much worse than the actuality of it. I wholeheartedly believe this. PLEASE, take the time to learn the possible warning signs of autism. Early Intervention makes all the difference, and you could notice something a parent may not.